Congratulations to BCIS HS Graduate Mimi Guan

Mimi Guan, High School graduate of Beijing City International School (BCIS), will be attending Parsons School of Design in New York City later this fall, majoring in strategic design and management.

It does not feel as though I have fully graduated yet since school has been a routine for most of my life. Having it suddenly be over is very strange to me. I feel as though there is something I should be doing, but other than that I am delighted and excited to have graduated. I am planning on returning to Australia for most of the summer and then coming back for a short while to pack everything before I move to the US.

I have studied at BCIS since I was in Grade 5 and am one of the only few that are left from the Elementary School group to have stayed with BCIS for so long. This school has given me many different experiences, both good and bad. Overall I would say the journey was full of challenges but the people I met along the way have been a huge help to my success and shaping me into who I am today.

Something I am most proud of during my time at BCIS was founding an EA called: BCIS Editorial. It is basically the school paper but written, edited, photographed and translated by students. I started this group at the beginning of Grade 11 with just eight students, and now it has grown to a group with more than 50 members with a wide variety of talents. We have expanded our platform to mostly WeChat, but as I am graduating, I have handed down the leadership to younger students to carry the EA on.

I took the IBDP course in High School. My courses consisted of: HL: art, business, design technology SL: Chinese B, English lang lit, math studies. I think the program was very tiring especially in the last two years; I have worked hard to get to where I am in my studies. I enjoy most of my classes but I think the pressure they put on students may be too much to bear at times.

I made my time in High School enjoyable by hanging with friends and giving myself time to relax when I felt stressed. I also tried to incorporate my hobbies into my subjects such as photography and drawing for my art course. This made my schoolwork more enjoyable.

Time management is definitely a huge factor in being successful in High School, but obviously sometimes it is hard to achieve. Students (including me) like to get sidetracked and distracted either in class or when they are supposed to be concentrating on schoolwork. I think it is important for the teacher to find a way to make their students interested in their work and interested in their subjects. Their passion towards what they are learning will allow them to become more motivated and this may result in students becoming more successful in High School.

I have studied in an international school for more than half of my life. I have been through the PYP, MYP, and now IBDP. I think for some aspects, international school education can prepare students better for their future. Although the work is hard and puts a lot of pressure on students, I think it may prepare them better for university life than the public school system. I have heard from my friends in university that the essays and assignments they complete in university are similar to the ones they had to complete in the IBDP, so in that aspect I think it prepares students better for the future. I will have to test this out this myself before I can make a final judgment though.

Advice to fellow students: Do not be afraid to ask questions or ask for extra help, because at the end of the day each student is responsible for their own success and at times teachers and people in general will take more initiative towards the students who try harder and make an impression. My other advice would be to try things in High School that make you uncomfortable - to basically be a risk taker. It is not easy to do but it will definitely help in the long run when it is time for you to graduate. When you look back you will be able to see the growth in your character from Freshman to Senior year and it can be overwhelming.